Dumbbell Decline Skullcrusher
A dumbbell triceps extension on a decline bench that shifts the load onto the long head through a deep stretched range.
How to do it
- Set the bench to a slight decline and lock your legs under the pads.
- Lie back holding a dumbbell in each hand and press them over your chest with your palms facing each other.
- Tilt your upper arms slightly back toward your head so the dumbbells sit just past vertical.
- Bend at the elbows, slowly lowering the dumbbells toward the sides of your head.
- Stop when you feel a strong stretch in the backs of your arms, with your elbows pointing up.
- Extend your arms back to the start with your triceps, keeping your upper arms in place.
Key technique cue
Elbows point up, shoulders stay put — lower the dumbbells smoothly, don't drop them to the head.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Letting the upper arms drift forward on the way up, which turns the exercise into a press.
- ✕ Flaring the elbows wide to the sides, which trades triceps work for shoulder stress.
- ✕ Shortening the range at the bottom and skipping the deep stretch where the long head is loaded.
- ✕ Going too heavy and crashing the dumbbells toward your head instead of lowering them under control.
Benefits
- ✓ Builds triceps size with a deep long-head stretch.
- ✓ Adds targeted arm volume without loading the chest or shoulders.
- ✓ Trains the elbow extension pattern that powers lockout in pressing exercises.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
Step 2 You are here - Dumbbell Decline Skullcrusher
- Tate Press
- Step 3
About the exercise
The Dumbbell Decline Skullcrusher is a triceps extension on a decline bench with the upper arms angled back over the head. That angle puts the long head of the triceps under a deep stretch at the bottom of every rep, which is one of the strongest triceps growth stimuli there is. In hypertrophy programs, it is a valuable triceps accessory. It fits arm-day blocks and push-day finishers, and gives intermediate lifters the long-head stretch that a flat-bench skullcrusher doesn't quite deliver.
Updated
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